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Why can't I look like Mark Sisson!?!?!

01-18-2013, 10:48 PM

Hi all,
New to the forum but not new to the paleo ideal.
I know there are a million and one posts about weight loss on this forum but I have a dilemna.
I have been following a low carb lifestyle for the past six months with cheats every week and a half.
Currently, I do an IF/Warrior diet where I only eat once or twice a day keeping my food pretty much the same for convenience. Here is a sample of my diet.

Whey protein shake:
3 carbs 17 pros 1 fat
2 servings about 200 cal

About a pound and a half chicken or grass fed beef
660-1000 cals

Avocado
240 cals

turkey bacon or whole eggs only doing about 175 cals at a time.

all ontop of a big salad of romaine, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, olives, and bell peppers. Usually with mustard as my dressing. Weird I know but I love mustard.

cals range from about 1750- 2500 depending on my activity level of the day.

I am 6'2" 198 pounds on a good day and have about 15% body fat (all around hips and stomach)
I excersize 3-4xs per week doing compund usually full body workouts which last from 45-75 mins.

My problem is I can't seem to lose weight past this point! I hope to one day enter a bodybuilding show and reach the pinnacle of my performance. When I was following the standard high carb low fat regiment I got down to 11% body fat but have not been able to do so since.

If there is any lovely people out there who would mind sparing some advice my way it would be much appreciate!

You don't have to eat Low Carb to be 'Primal' by any means! Eat some spuds, man! LC is good for some initial weightloss or certain medical conditions, but a big ol' healthy guy exercising hard and wanting to get ripped is gonna have to take a trip down the tater aisle.

Nothing wrong with 2-3 big potatoes a day, especially workout days. Rice OK, too, but not as great as plain old white potatoes. Learn to love 'em as plain as possible. They don't need to be drowned in butter and sour cream.

There used to be a big 'carb refeed' crowd around here, but now it's more of a potato revolution taking place.

LC is good for somewhat sedentary people who gain easily and have trouble with binge-ing, but a good carb range for folks working out and working on the last 10 is in the 100-200 a day range. Easy to get from a couple potatoes a day.

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I would say that you should probably keep your calories up toward the higher end, head toward "maintenance" calories, and exercise fasted (i assume you do anyway, but, you know).

My husband does it carb refeed style -- essentially veggies on non-work out days, and then on work out days, he'll add a sweet potato or potato or rice. He does his heavy lifting 2x a week, so his break-fast meal will include these.

I think he's at 8%, but he figures he is at 10% BF. He's happy where he is, though, and not looking to compete (also, to compete, you might need to do some extreme stuff to cut down for the comp -- or go to lean gains and see what is what there).

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I'm about 5'9" and 160lbs and I eat at least as much as you. Currently around the same BF% too. I would say that my body fat and distribution (mainly love handles) is about the same also. I have been down to 148lbs while eating primal, but to be honest I started feeling a bit "frail".....

Fact is 15% body fat is perfectly healthy. If you wanna get Sissonesque then your really gonna have to dial everything including stress and sleep levels. Also, your still hitting the gym....is there any chance that your slowly recomping? (maybe replacing a pound-2lbs of fat with muscle each month over time). I know back in the day when I was in the wrestling off season I would put on some weight then just lift for about four months. My method was to make sure I was lifting heavier weight each week and keep my scale weight the same. That would be how I knew I was replacing fat with muscle. Then season would come along and I'd cut the fat. So if your lifts are improving, but your weight isn't going up that could very well be part of it.

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You definitely need to be taking measurements so you can calculate your body fat, or getting a scan/bodpod done so that it is accurate.

Second, cheat days every ten days? Are your goals or your cheat days more important to you?

Third, six months? And you're looking to drop another 10 pounds of fat, right? It might take you a while. You might have to try some other hacks, such as carb cycling, or calorie cycling, or cold thermogenesis, or...

4. What kind of workouts? Are you walking? Are you lifting heavy things? Are you lifting heavier things the next workout? Are you sprinting? Another option is to start really building muscle, for which you will need to eat. A lot.

Really, there are a ton of different things you can try to dial things in, but no one can tell you which one will work for you. You're going to have to try things out and test and experiment.

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Stress and sleep are very important. You are fighting an uphill battle if you have problems with either of those. If your fat is on your belly... which at 15% fat you must mean a small layer? But belly fat usually indicates insulin resistance. Which if you are trying to lose weight, potatoes won't do you any favors in that department. Sorry, just my opinion and experience. Potatoes stopped my weight loss. Eating low carb, high fat, moderate protein and with a calorie deficit is very powerful if you do have insulin resistance. Doesn't mean you have to eat that way forever, but just for trimming down. Also be sure to get your omega 3's. I know you are eating some grass fed, but also some not and not sure about the eggs.

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Wow the amouny of feedback here is phenomenal. Thanks everyone. I'm thinking of adding sweet potatoes back in. I am trying to do a recomp when i add on calories I feel like I gain weeek really easily. The cheat day I have is not related to goals by any means its usually me giving in to my addiction to sweets. The past two days I have actually been trying Dave Asprey's bulletproof fasting porticol with bulletproof coffee coffe W/ grass fed butter. I had 1000 calories of the buttter today and the other 1000 of my calories from my chicken egg salad mix. and really like it! How do you all see butter over here is it a no no or do you eat it?

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It's harder to attain at middle age that simply maintain.
Of course, best of luck!
Have some patience and enjoy the journey if 'ripped' is indeed your ultimate goal.
Being hasty is a good road to disappointment in general IME.

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drssg chick i have not looked at the fitness section yet. And i can definitely say I overtrain sometimes in the heat of the moment I can sometimes push my limits further at the gym sometimes sometimes resulting in some cps fatigue